Someone to Care
by TheArchimage
Summary: Frisk would never forget the moment they met. Part of Chara & Frisk Week 2018.


I know I'm late on my other projects, but I saw a post about Chara & Frisk Week 2018 on tumblr and it came at the perfect time. I've had a really lousy week and could do with some cheering up by hanging out with my two favorite goobers. I may be behind, but hopefully I can get caught up if I write shorter stories than this one for the remaining themes!

This story may be familiar to readers of my other works, being one of the early scenes of How to Save a Soul from a different perspective. I hope that's okay! For those who aren't familiar with my stories, I interpret the start of the game as Frisk isn't able to see, hear, or interact with Chara until after the Flowey intro. In case anyone is wondering why the story starts here instead of in the flower patch.

* * *

Frisk had been lied to. That pellet wasn't friendly at all. They could not even be sure whether they were knocked off their feet or simply collapsed, but the pellet had connected with the heart in their chest Flowey called their "soul" and the next thing they knew they were face-first in the dirt tasting blood in their mouth. They could not even scream it hurt so badly; even lying there was excruciating. They tried to at least move their fingers but could barely get them to twitch. How stupid. Frisk, the kid who recently got suspended for punching someone's lights out, letting themself get sucker-punched. They tried again to put strength in their limbs… but thought better of it. The flower clearly meant them harm, and they had no way left to defend themself. So why fight it? They were so tired of trying to be nice and friendly and never having anything to show for it. The kids at school, their foster parents, the social workers, none of them really cared about them. At least Flowey cared enough about their life to end it. That was fine. That was okay. They closed their eyes and waited for the finishing blow.

"What the hell are you doing?! You hit them in the soul, don't you know how dangerous that is for a human?!"

A new voice, one they had never heard before. Frisk opened one eye. They could not move their neck to see their face but it looked like another kid dressed in a green sweater with a single yellow stripe across it and dark shorts. Their hands were pale, much paler than Frisk's own, but their fingers were slender and more delicate. Their straight hair was a mousy brown and hung just low enough to cover their neck. They were yelling at the flower, but Flowey ignored them entirely. No, it seemed like Flowey looked right past them. More of those pellets appeared and began to slowly close in. "Die," the flower commanded.

The kid huddled closer to Frisk with their back towards them. They threw out one arm to shield the fallen child's body, standing straight like a shield in the face of those deadly pellets. Why? Why would this person they had never met try to help them? Who were they?

Pillars of heat and fire erupted, blasting the pellets out of the air. Flowey beat a hasty retreat, and standing behind them was… a goat?

"Toriel!" the other child called out and jumped to their feet. They rushed toward the robed goat-person, ready to intercept them. "Toriel, I can explain!… W-well, no I can't. I don't know what's going on or why I came back or-"

Then she ran straight through them, phasing past their body like they were nothing more than vapor.

Oh. _Oh._

The goat woman put her hand on Frisk's shoulder and immediately they felt better. The pain was replaced by a fresh and somewhat spiky feeling like they had inhaled the scent of candy canes. She introduced herself as Toriel and said a lot of other things besides but Frisk was not paying much attention. They could not stop staring at the other child as they trudged over to the side of the hall and sat down, wrapping their arms around their legs and burying their head in their knees. Their shoulders heaved once or twice and they were breathing heavily.

Toriel took their hand (without even asking!) and started to lead them away. She walked past the other kid without acknowledging them in any way. Maybe… maybe Frisk was the only one who could see them. They were the only one who knew they were there at all. No wonder they looked so sad and forlorn. Frisk knew what that was like; for lots of reasons they had always been alone too. But if no one else would be their friend, maybe they would? Maybe they could be alone, together?

Frisk pulled their hand out of Toriel's. They considered signing but realized that of course Toriel would not know sign, most humans didn't so why would a monster? They swallowed and said, "I… need a moment. Alone."

Toriel raised an eyebrow. Oh no, she was mad. "My child, I do not think that flower will return. Even so, I do not like the idea of leaving you alone before I have taught you how to stay safe here in the Ruins."

They were pushing their luck, they knew, but they couldn't leave that kid alone. Not when they looked like that. But she would not believe them if they said there was an invisible kid that needed help. Quick, make up a lie. "I… have to use the little human's room?"

Luckily the goat person understood what they meant and moved on to the next room without them. Alright, now how to do this? Frisk had tried making friends lots of times, but they had never quite gotten the hang of it. They understood the basic idea: be nice, be friendly, do things they ask you to, and then you're friends. But it never seemed to work out that way. This time they absolutely could not screw up. They held out a hand to help the other kid up and called out, "Hi."

The other kid froze. They hurriedly wiped their eyes on their sleeve before looking up at their eyes but not into them. The kid kept their eyelids half-down but not enough to conceal the dark red iris. Red eyes, Frisk thought, just like them. Who were they? They had never met or even heard of anyone with red eyes besides them before. They had not been in this area long but surely someone would have said something. "How long have you been able to see me?" they asked.

"Since the flower hit me I guess?"

"I see." The child nodded, accepting this answer. Then they got to their feet without taking Frisk's hand. They brushed the dust off their shorts and stood straight to try and look taller than Frisk even though they had maybe a couple inches on them at best. Their smile looked fake and plastered on, and their eyes narrowed in a predatory way. "In that case, greetings. I am Chara. I am a ghost, and I am haunting you."

A ghost friend! Lots of great stories started off like this! Frisk gave them their most winning smile. "Thanks for trying to save me, Chara. I'm Frisk."

Chara's eyes trailed from Frisk's face down to their fingers, still waiting for that handshake. Their smile curled upward mockingly. "Do you not know what a ghost is?" they asked. "I am incorporeal. I cannot shake your hand." They demonstrated by slapping their hand through Frisk's palm several times. Their hands did not stop and meet, and in fact Frisk did not even feel air fanned at them from Chara's movements.

Frisk pulled their hand back. "Oh." This wasn't off to a very promising start…


End file.
